******RECAP****** So far we have Lucy who has expected to find something in a vase but was quite surprised (and a little annoyed) to find a concoction of chicken, vegetables and something else in there instead. In order to solve, what was Lucy doing with the vase? what did she expect to find in there? what 'dish' did she actually find in there? and how did it get there?

The usual reason food ends up in vases is that people who don't like it hide it in vases rather than making it clear they don't like it by leaving it on the plate. Is this what has happened here? a good guess but no

A frog is a thingy that is used to hold flower stems in place in a vase or bowl. It may be a heavy metal plate with lots of sharp spikelets sticking out of it, to impale the stems on, or it may be a glass blob with holes in it to set the stems into. Or it may be an elegant or whimsical piece of porcelain or pottery. It sits down in the water at the bottom of the container. There, more than you wanted to know about frogs.

The thing that Lucy expected to find: had it ever been in the vase? not to start with if so, did she put it there herself? noOr, did she know that the chicken chow mien had been in the vase, but thought it was gone? she knew nothing about it until she found it

I meant, was she expecting to find something which actually had been in the vase at some point, but which was somehow replaced with chicken chow mien? Was she looking in the wrong vase? Had someone accidentally put the chicken chow mien in the vase? thinking the chicken chow mien was something else? or thinking the vase was something else?

I meant, was she expecting to find something which actually had been in the vase at some point, but which was somehow replaced with chicken chow mien? no what she expected to find would have got in there of its own accord but wasn't actually replaced with the chow mein, she still would have found what she had expected but was probably more concerned about the chow mein

Was she looking in the wrong vase? noHad someone accidentally put the chicken chow mien in the vase? yesish thinking the chicken chow mien was something else? no or thinking the vase was something else? no

So the thing she expected to find was in the vase as well as the chow mien? Had she placed the vase somewhere so that it would collect something? which was falling from above it? but somehow it also collected chow mien? the thing she was expecting: solid? liquid? gas?

So the thing she expected to find was in the vase as well as the chow mien? yesHad she placed the vase somewhere so that it would collect something? no which was falling from above it? no but somehow it also collected chow mien? nothe thing she was expecting: solid? yesish liquid? no gas? no

Did someone put the chow mein in the vase to hide it? to keep Lucy from knowing that it was there? Is Lucy a militant vegan? a vegetarian?, who didn't allow meat products in her house, and would be offended that someone had gotten? or made? chicken chow mein?

Did someone put the chow mein in the vase to hide it? no to keep Lucy from knowing that it was there? no Is Lucy a militant vegan? no a vegetarian?, who didn't allow meat products in her house, and would be offended that someone had gotten? or made? chicken chow mein? no to rest

**********SPOLIER************** Lucy is in fact me. I have a largish vase standing in the corner of my lounge. Being a particularly clean and tidy sort of person and knowing how these things collect dust etc, I decided to give it a good clean. Upon filling it with water to rinse it out, imagine my surprise when not only did I find dust in it, but various strands of noodles, chicken etc floating to the surface! It would appear that my other half had been carrying around a plate of chinese takeaway from the previous week and being a clumsy sort had dropped it. The haplass droppage I did know about but not about the droppage in the vase as he had conveniently fogrotten to tell me about that!

Thankyou for everyone's participation and a hearty congratulations to John for tying it all up together